Will it be the Pitt and ND teams that both lost to Georgetown at home? Maybe the Pitt team that beat UConn in Storrs and Syracuse at home? Perhaps the ND team coming off a win over unbeaten BC and that has also beaten UConn? That’s just it, we don’t know.

What we do know: it looks like a flu bug going around the Pitt team. Several articles mention different players as being ill in the end notes.

ND ended up with a more difficult schedule in the Big Eastt by virtue of their other 2 pair of home-away conference games. ND will face Villanova and Georgetown in home-away conference games in addition to Pitt, UConn and Syracuse. Pitt has WVU and St. John’s. ND actually needs that, considering their non-con strength of schedule was actually weaker than Pitt’s.

Something for Pitt to worry about: ND is the best shooting 3-point team in the Big East. Unlike WVU that hoists anywhere, anytime, ND can actually make their shots. They have 3 guys that can shoot well from outside: Colin Falls, Chris Quinn and Chris Thomas. Thomas can also drive to the basket. Pitt has been consistently bad against teams with more than one outside scoring threat. It also means that there will be longer rebounds from misses. Pitt, especially the guards, will have to get in better position to try and snatch them. Unfortunately, aside from Krauser, the other guards tend to stand around waiting for the inside guys to come out for them. This allows the opposing team’s guards to charge in to the ball. And it is always easier to come in to a ball than go out.

If Pitt is really lucky, then ND will have a hideous outside shooting game, like they did against UConn. UConn was unprepared to bang inside, despite the skilled players they possess in the paint, and it was how ND won. Pitt’s inside guys want to bang and don’t shy away. Teams that have tried to match physical play inside against Pitt have failed.

Pitt will need Ramon on the court because Graves has not been any good on perimeter defense. Ramon, though, is still bothered by his sore shoulder. (The article notes that DeGroat missed practice with the flu.)

Pitt has to work on a couple things that were lacking in their last two games. Finishing teams and limiting turnovers. Pitt had chances to put away WVU and St. John’s but couldn’t finish. It caught up with them in Morgantown. The turnovers were astronomical against St. John’s, limiting Pitt’s opportunities. Even against WVU, Pitt had 12 turnovers, and just didn’t take care of the ball. (Carl Krauser is mentioned as being sick during the week.)

The weekly Q&A with Ray Fittipaldo, the P-G Pitt basketball beat reporter. Lots of frustration being conveyed through the questions.

Q: Why can’t this team stay mentally focused for all games? Pitt is 16-4 with losses to Bucknell, St. John’s and now West Virginia. This is not the way to gain national recognition. I know how we’ll hear that West Virginia is our biggest rival. I don’t buy it. Pitt got lucky in the first half when WVU was 2 for 17 from 3-point range. Same shots in the second half, different results. This team is very disturbing. With all the hullabaloo about the improved shooting, the defense just is not there. Dixon needs to kick some butt. Pitt probably will be an NCAA because of its reputation, but at this point, Pitt should be a bubble team.

FITTIPALDO: I’m sure it’s very disconcerting for Dixon that his team underestimates less-talented opponents. Good teams never do that. Pitt is not on the bubble at this point. The Panthers are ranked No. 18 and are OK in the RPI. But they can become a bubble team in the coming weeks if they don’t stand up to what is a very difficult final seven games. Pitt must play Notre Dame, Syracuse (away), Villanova (away), West Virginia, Connecticut, Boston College (away) and Notre Dame (away). If Pitt is 9-7 or 8-8 in conference play after that stretch, then we’d be talking about the bubble. If they’re 10-6, they’d be OK because they’d be 20-7 overall. Remember, the NCAA tournament selection committee looks at how teams are playing over the final month of the season, and they also take into consideration bad losses. Pitt has three bad losses, so they had better be playing well the final few weeks.
…
Q: I think it’s fair to say at this point Pitt plays to the level of its competition. What does that say about this group of players?

FITTIPALDO: I would agree with you, Phil. Pitt has showed that it can play great against ranked teams and horribly against the dregs of the Big East. While I won’t go as far as Jamie Dixon or some of Pitt’s players and say this is a young team, I will offer this excuse: Pitt is young at certain positions and the inexperience has hurt them in some instances. Two of Pitt’s top reserves are freshmen and another is a sophomore. Two starters are playing significant minutes for the first time in their careers. The team that advanced to the Sweet 16 last season had two senior starters (Julius Page and Jaron Brown), a two-year starter at power forward (Chevy Troutman), a sophomore at point guard (Carl Krauser) and a freshman (Chris Taft) at center. Krauser and Taft played above expectations and were big factors in Pitt’s success. The first-year players this season are not the impact players those guys were. Plus, we all know by now how important Page and Brown were to that team. They didn’t put up great statistics, but they made big plays on offense and especially on defense that carried that team to a Big East regular-season championship.

Also a little about why Julius Page left the ABA for a Russian team. Hint: money.

Finally a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek piece from Shelly Anderson about Western Pennsylvania myopia.